A Major Breakthrough, Ghostly Shadow!

Flame Snake Consort was utterly captivated by the coffin suspended on the cliff face. How could she still care about Xia Wuji?

She immediately rushed to the foot of the cliff. With only eighth-level True Essence Realm cultivation, she could not yet fly through the air, so her body slithered up the cliff like a giant serpent.

Zhang Tao, at the seventh level of the True Essence Realm, led his subordinate at the third level of the True Essence Realm and charged toward Xia Wuji.

At this moment, within Xia Wuji's Dantian, ten violently spinning energy vortices transformed into ten funnel-like shapes, and pure energy essence fell from the bottoms of those funnels.

When the pure essence falling from the ten energy vortices gathered together, it instantly underwent a qualitative change, condensing into the form of a droplet.

"Drip."

The liquefied energy fell into Xia Wuji's Dantian.

Boom!

Xia Wuji's aura suddenly surged by a tremendous amount. Centered on his body, a powerful wave of air immediately swept outward.

Breakthrough!

First level of the True Essence Realm!

A first-level True Essence Realm martial artist could possess up to ten drops of True Essence within their body.

Every drop of True Essence could unleash power far beyond that of a tenth-level Qi Gathering Realm martial artist giving everything they had!

"Well, aren't you bold? At a moment like this, you still have the mind to cultivate and break through." Zhang Tao, with his seventh-level True Essence Realm cultivation, had already arrived before Xia Wuji.

He stared at Xia Wuji and sneered. "You're only at the first level of the True Essence Realm. Even if you've broken through, what can you possibly change?"

His tone brimmed with contempt.

"Second Brother, there's no need for you to deal with this kind of trash. It would only dirty your hands. Leave him to me." The third-level True Essence Realm fellow beside Zhang Tao wore a cold smile, his killing intent boiling.

Zhang Tao gave a grunt. "Don't kill him outright. Just cut off his hands and feet. This kid is so young, yet he should be a Formation Master. He might have quite the background. Keep him alive, and we may gain something else from him!"

"Yes!"

"Second Brother, rest assured. I'll get it done!"

The third-level True Essence Realm martial artist drew a long saber hanging from his waist. He stamped his feet and leaped into the air like a fierce tiger descending the mountain, slashing down savagely as the blade fell toward one of Xia Wuji's arms.

Xia Wuji's expression remained indifferent. He had no intention of moving even half a step, allowing the gleaming, icy blade to slash at him. Just as the saber was about to strike him—

Whoosh!

Xia Wuji's sword finally left its sheath.

Like thunder!

Swift and fierce!

Though unleashed later, it arrived first. Sword light instantly swept across the martial artist charging at Xia Wuji with his saber raised!

The next moment, that body was split directly into two halves.

Bang!

Bang!

The two pieces of the mutilated corpse fell one after the other, smashing down at Xia Wuji's feet. Blood sprayed everywhere. He was dead beyond all doubt.

Xia Wuji glanced into the distance, and his expression tightened slightly.

He saw that Flame Snake Consort had already approached the coffin hanging high upon the cliff.

Meanwhile, Zhang Tao stared blankly at the two severed halves on the ground. After recovering his senses, he reached behind him and pulled out the spear strapped to his back.

"You little bastard, it seems I underestimated you. You dared kill my brother? I'll make you pay!"

Although Xia Wuji's single sword strike had instantly killed his underling and shocked him deeply, rage followed immediately after.

In his eyes, even if this little bastard had been playing the pig to eat the tiger, he was no ordinary tiger. He was a ferocious, savage tiger at the seventh level of the True Essence Realm!

Zhang Tao roared and charged before Xia Wuji in an instant.

His spear swung, its sharp tip slicing toward Xia Wuji's throat.

A clear breeze stirred beneath Xia Wuji's feet as he unleashed his movement technique. It looked as though he had narrowly and luckily evaded the spear tip that sought to tear open his throat, but in truth, it was all under his precise control.

Setting Sun's Afterglow.

As he unleashed the True Sun Swordplay, sword light spread out, and a scorching aura filled the air.

Zhang Tao could be considered a ruthless man with extremely rich combat experience. He immediately withdrew his missed spear thrust, held the spear across his body, and blocked Xia Wuji's incoming blade.

Clang!

When Xia Wuji's sword struck the spear—

Something Zhang Tao had not anticipated happened!

What domineering power!

The force jolted both his hands gripping the spear until they ached. Worse still, the power striking his spear contained razor-sharp edges that tore open both his palms.

Blood instantly stained the spot where his hands gripped the spear.

Zhang Tao had nearly lost his grip and dropped the spear.

His opponent had only just broken through to the True Essence Realm before their eyes, borrowing the energy within the tomb of the Core Formation Realm expert, the Mortal World Sword Master.

Only the first level of the True Essence Realm...

How could he unleash such terrifying explosive power?

It had actually left him, a seventh-level True Essence Realm martial artist, unable to withstand it!

At this moment, Zhang Tao finally realized that he had kicked an iron plate!

But once Xia Wuji drew his sword, he would naturally not give his opponent another chance. His first strike had already left Zhang Tao's palms torn and bleeding and both arms numb. His second sword strike followed seamlessly.

The transitions between sword moves flowed as freely as his heart desired, as traceless and wondrous as an antelope hanging its horns, incomparably profound.

Pluck Chestnuts from the Fire!

The Jinghong Sword in Xia Wuji's hand thrust forward at lightning speed. Zhang Tao no longer had time to block or evade. With a muffled tearing sound, the fire-glimmering sword edge pierced through Zhang Tao's throat as easily as it would puncture a sheet of thin paper.

Xia Wuji withdrew his sword.

With a clang, the spear in Zhang Tao's hand dropped to the ground. One hand clutched his throat, but the scalding blood still could not be stopped, spraying through the gaps between his fingers.

His life force drained away rapidly. His other hand pointed at Xia Wuji. "You..."

In the end, he could not speak the words he wanted to say. With a dull thud as his body hit the ground, Zhang Tao became a corpse.

Xia Wuji did not spare the corpse another glance.

He had already turned around and looked toward the scene atop the cliff.

Flame Snake Consort had reached the coffin. Filled with excitement and anticipation, she directly pried open the lid.

But in the next instant, a black figure abruptly shot out from within the coffin.

The black figure's two arms instantly clamped around Flame Snake Consort's neck.

Then, tendril-like appendages actually emerged from the black figure's body and burrowed into Flame Snake Consort's body.

Flame Snake Consort was, after all, at the eighth level of the True Essence Realm. Yet at this very moment, she possessed not the slightest ability to resist. Her body convulsed continuously as the blood and vitality throughout her body drained away at a terrifying speed.

Moreover, the entire tomb space turned cold. Biting gusts of yin wind howled through it, while the corpses Xia Wuji had just slain shriveled at a rate visible to the naked eye.

An eerie devouring force had even spread onto Xia Wuji's body.

A cold, sharp gleam rose in Xia Wuji's eyes.

"A Core Formation Realm cultivator who has not quite died, hiding here for decades to practice demonic arts. Now you wish to devour the blood and vitality of living beings and be reborn?"

"So this group being able to find this place, and even the formations here becoming damaged, were all bait you deliberately released?"

"If I had not appeared and, in effect, led the way for them, they truly would not have been able to break in."

"And they could not possibly give up so easily. They would only seek more helpers. Eventually, the commotion would grow larger and larger, more and more people would be drawn in by this so-called tomb of a Core Formation Realm expert, and you would have an abundant supply of blood food."

Memories of his previous life surfaced in Xia Wuji's mind. During this period, it seemed that quite a few martial artists had entered the Monster Suppression Mountain Range and never emerged alive again.

Some had even gone to the Sword Pavilion for help.

But Xia Wuji did not know what happened afterward. At that time, he had already been unable to protect himself. Not long after, he fell into a spatial rift and entered the Heaven Realm.

"What a pity... you encountered me, so you are doomed to fail!" Xia Wuji gathered his thoughts and muttered to himself.

The next moment, his body shot toward the cliff.

He stepped upon the sheer rocks as though walking on level ground, rushing swiftly toward that coffin!